method and system for transmitting and/or receiving at least one location reference, enhanced by at least one focusing factor

ABSTRACT

A method and system are disclosed. In at least one embodiment, the method includes at least one of obtaining and receiving information regarding at least one location reference at a server ( 302 ) for transmission to at least one remote device; determining at least one path of the at least one location reference corresponding to at least one pair of points within mapping information at the server ( 302 ); computing at least one focusing factor at the server (302) based upon encoded information corresponding to the determined at least one path of the at least one location reference, and enhancing the at least one location reference by the computed at least one focusing factor; and transmitting the at least one location reference enhanced by the computed at least one focusing factor from the server ( 302 ) to the at least one remote device.

FIELD

Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to methods and/orsystems for transmitting information, for use in navigation for example,and/or method and systems for receiving and processing the transmittedinformation.

BACKGROUND

In recent years, consumers have been provided with a variety of devicesand systems to enable them to locate places or destinations on a digitalmap. The terms “places” or “destinations” are general terms usedthroughout the description of embodiments of this invention. The term“places” or “destinations” includes street addresses, buildings locatedat street addresses such as businesses and landmarks, and facilitieslocated at a number of street addresses such as shopping malls andbusiness parks. The variety of devices and systems used by consumers or“users” are in the form of in-vehicle navigation systems that enabledrivers to navigate over streets and roads; hand-held devices such aspersonal digital assistants (“PDAs”), personal navigation devices(PNDs), and cell phones or other types of mobile devices that canperform navigation or utilize digital map data; desktop applications,and Internet applications in which users can generate maps showingdesired places and use other mapping services, etc., collectivelyreferenced herein as “end user mapping devices”. These end user mappingdevices may be personal or commercial. The common aspect in all of theseand other types of end user mapping devices is a map database ofgeographic features, vectors and attributes, and software to access,and/or manipulate, and/or navigate the map database in response to userinputs.

Essentially, in all of these end user mapping devices, a user can entera desired place or destination and the returned result will be thelocation of that place or destination. Typically, users will enter thename of a business, such as a restaurant for example, or a destinationlandmark, such as the Golden Gate Bridge for example, or a streetaddress, etc. The device/system then determines and returns the locationof the requested place. The location may be shown on a map display, ormay be used to calculate and display driving directions to the locationin a known manner, or used in other ways.

As technology progresses, it becomes more and more important for asystem to allow someone with the spatial content information or mappinginformation to communicate locations of dynamic content (known as alocation reference, wherein a location reference can include one or morepaths, and wherein non-limiting examples of a location reference includea traffic message such as a traffic jam, road closures, etc., a TMClocation, a detour, a suggested tourist route, etc.), within the mappinginformation to travelers (via broadcasting packets of information to enduser mapping devices including but not limited to in-vehicle andportable navigation devices (PNDs)) to enable routing between a locationof a user and a desired destination of a user to occur in an improved,if not optimal, manner. For example, if a user of some type ofnavigation device or device with navigation capabilities, for example,can obtain a location of a location reference within mapping informationindicating that there is a traffic jam along a stretch of highway thatthe user would be traveling on based upon his current route of travel,it would be desirable for the user of the navigation device to receivethis information so that an improved route of travel could be calculatedto avoid the traffic jam, for example.

Some methods broadcasting locations of such dynamic content or locationreferences such as traffic jams, road closures, etc. is generally known(via broadcasting information packets to multiple remotely located enduser mapping devices), as is re-routing of travel routes from obtainedtraffic information. The location on an encoding mapping device must bedescribed in such a way that others receiving the information on adecoding device can understand the location of the traffic jam, roadclosure, etc. within stored spatial content or mapping information.However, the “location” may be mis-translated depending on a type oreven version of map information that a decoding mapping device might beusing (noting that the term “location reference” within the spatialcontent information may be more than just a point, namely it may be oneor more paths or areas or anything that is a spatial description).Further, if too much information is conveyed, the speed of the locationcalculation at the end user mapping device may undesirably slow down.

Regarding the determination and conveying of a location reference,conveying of the information has been contemplated utilizing, forexample, international codes for locations on stored maps for mappingapplications. It is a current practice that a government agency or anindustry consortium has authority to code the identity of each importantspatial location such as a Traffic Message Channel code (TMC). However,such an authority has to maintain the codes, and the vendors of each ofthe databases or mapping application vendors have to incorporate thesecodes for subsequent application in all devices utilizing mappingapplications. Such processes naturally limit the extent and currency ofagreed upon location codes, which cover only a tiny fraction of maplocations. Further, as the traffic reporting industry and mappingapplications mature, the industry demands flexibility to reference arandom location just in time, without pre-assigned codes, fordereferencing by mapping applications on map data from different mapdata suppliers or different data versions of the same supplier.

Thereafter, the mapping industry attempted to standardize what would beenough information, regarding location references (noting that alocation reference may include one or more paths, and/or a trafficmessage such as a traffic jam or road closure location, a TMC location,a detour, a suggested tourist route, etc., which are all non-limitingexamples of a location reference), to adequately convey a locationwithin map information for example. Dynamic location referencing methodsare designed so that irrespective of whose map or what map version isbeing used, enough information would be included to accuratelyreconstruct the referenced location within stored map information usedin the decoding mapping device, such as a navigation device for example.

Typically, dynamic location reference methods go beyond just latitudeand longitude of a traffic jam or road closure location, but also supplystreet and cross street names and other location properties. Modem mapdata is typically of good quality, being based on large scale area orsatellite images and highly accurate field data collection, especiallyfor high-usage locations. Yet there are still enough differences betweendata models, geometry and attributes and map data from different vendorsand different versions of maps to make reliable road locationreferencing a non-trivial problem. Originating and decoding map datacould be different in significant details between map data versions ofthe same vendor, and especially between two different vendors. Thequality of dynamic location referencing methods is measured by locationmatch rate between encoding and decoding devices. To reach an acceptablerate, some methods increase the amount of information provided regardingthe location, which causes increased location encoding footprint, andrequires inordinate encoding and decoding time. Thus, as the informationcontent or location footprint become too large, decoding becomes aproblem, especially in smaller end-user mapping devices which may nothave significant processing power (such as portable navigation devices,for example).

Recently a method called Agora-C was developed as a location referencingstandard aimed to meet a 95% decoding success rate on maps of differentorigins or of different versions, considered acceptable by the industry.However, the method is enormously complex, encoding is computationallyintensive, and a location encoding footprint is relatively large, whichmay cause poor performance of the decoding process on small end usermapping devices.

Location referencing methods often utilize functional road class (FRC)as part of the encoding process, wherein roads are classified such ashighways, small streets, etc. based on map data attributes. An FRCdepicts the functional importance of a road, and is among the mostcommon characteristic of linear feature encodings accepted by a varietyof location referencing methods. Many location reference methods(including Agora-C) require computation of shortest paths in the processof encoding and decoding a location reference. In such methods, theshortest path computation which takes place in both an encoder ofinformation and a decoder of information, is driven by a cost of travelalong the link, wherein the more important the road, the cheaper thecost of travel per unit of distance.

Functional road class (FRC) is often used in route calculation of moderndynamic location reference methods (wherein Agora-C defines 10 FRCs,from low residential to the highest speed motorway, which are derivedfrom map data). However, FRC attributes in map data are often results ofa judgment call of a digital cartographer or field data collector,wherein mapmakers have no firm standard or agreements on FRCs. FRCvalues could be assigned based on a country's administrative roadnetwork scheme, speed limit, road vanity, reasons for providing a morebeautified map display, or mixture of some or all of the reasonspreviously mentioned. Internal guidelines are subject to interpretation.Apart from topmost motorways or clearly residential streets, FRCs aretherefore too vague to be considered reliably matched between versionsof the database let alone, from one vendor's map database to anothervendor's map database.

Accordingly, FRCs are often a likely culprit in location dereferencingerrors, noting that differences in cost induced by ambiguous FRC mappingbetween different maps may cause significant difference in pathcomputation by a decoding device, such as an end user mapping device 200for example. Furthermore, introduction of massive amounts of probe datautilized for map data updating will subject mid-tier FRCs to a high rateof change, causing location referencing match rates to degrade even ondata from different releases of the map databases from the same vendor.

An encoded location reference usually includes one or more paths, eachincluding starting and ending points, and typically along with routingpoints or their equivalents, spatial markers, to help disambiguate alocation on an encoding device, wherein routing points are placed alonglocation reference paths such that connecting segments between eachconsecutive pairs of routing points coincide with the shortest pathbetween them. A remote decoding device such as an end user mappingdevice, for example, identifies candidates for routing points andcomputes shortest paths between them to reconstruct an encoded location.While fast decoding speed is critical, a path reconstruction process ona decoding device often performs unnecessary work, exploring allpotential routing nodes in a large area.

SUMMARY

At least one embodiment of the present application is directed towardencoding and decoding of linear location references when a path needs tobe computed twice: first as part of a location encoding process, andthen as part of path reconstruction step in location reference decodingprocess.

At least one embodiment of the present application is directed towardconveying location reference information in a more universally useablemanner and/or conveying location reference information in a manner whichimproves the decoding process at the remote device.

At least one other embodiment of the present application is directed toa method comprising at least one of obtaining and receiving informationregarding at least one location reference at a server for transmissionto at least one remote device; determining at least one path of the atleast one location reference corresponding to at least one pair ofpoints within mapping information at the server; computing at least onefocusing factor at the server based upon encoded informationcorresponding to the determined at least one path of the at least onelocation reference, and enhancing the at least one location reference bythe computed at least one focusing factor; and transmitting the at leastone location reference enhanced by the computed at least one focusingfactor from the server to the at least one remote device.

At least one other embodiment of the present application is directed toa computer readable medium including program segments for, when executedon a processor of the server, causing the server to implement themethod.

At least one embodiment of the present application is directed to amethod comprising receiving information from a remote server, at adevice, the received information including at least one locationreference enhanced by at least one focusing factor, computed at theremote server based upon encoded information corresponding to at leastone path of the at least one location reference; and reconstructing theat least one path of the at least one location reference at the device,based upon the received at least one location reference enhanced by theat least one focusing factor.

At least one other embodiment of the present application is directed toa computer readable medium including program segments for, when executedon a processor of the server, causing the server to implement any of themethods.

At least one other embodiment of the present application is directed toa system comprising a receiver to at least one of obtain and receiveinformation regarding at least one location reference at a server fortransmission to at least one remote device; a processor to determine atleast one path of the at least one location reference corresponding toat least one pair of points within mapping information at the server andto compute at least one focusing factor at the server based upon encodedinformation corresponding to the determined at least one path of the atleast one location reference; and a transmitter to transmit the at leastone location reference enhanced by the at least one computed focusingfactor from the server to the at least one remote device.

At least one other embodiment of the present application is directed toa device comprising a receiver to receive information from a remotelylocated server, the information including at least one locationreference enhanced by at least one focusing factor computed at theserver based upon encoded information corresponding to at least one pathof the at least one location reference; and a processor to reconstructthe at least one path of the at least one location reference at thedevice, based upon the computed at least one location reference enhancedby at least one focusing factor.

Advantages of these embodiments are set out hereafter, and furtherdetails and features of each of these embodiments are defined in theaccompanying dependent claims and elsewhere in the following detaileddescription.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various aspects of the teachings of embodiments of the presentinvention, and arrangements embodying those teachings, will hereafter bedescribed by way of illustrative example with reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates electronic components arranged to provide anavigation device of an example embodiment of the present application;and

FIG. 2 illustrates an example embodiment where a navigation device mayreceive information over a wireless communication channel from a server;

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of an embodiment of a method of thepresent application;

FIG. 4 illustrates an example embodiment of mapping information andnavigation nodes explored during the path computation step of thelocation reference encoding process employed on a server device, or alinear reference path reconstruction or decoding step on a navigationdevice, without a focusing factor (heuristic value zero), when usingcommonly employed shortest path algorithm by Dijkstra;

FIG. 5 illustrates an example embodiment of mapping information andnavigation nodes explored during the location reference path computationstep of the encoding process on the server device, or a locationreference path reconstruction or decoding step on an end user mappingdevice, upon receipt of a focusing factor with heuristic value of 1 (atheoretical maximum for admissible heuristic value that guarantees anoptimal path when using A* algorithm);

FIG. 6 illustrates an example embodiment of mapping information andnavigation nodes, explored during the linear reference pathreconstruction or decoding step on an end user mapping device, uponreceipt of an example focusing factor;

FIG. 7 illustrates the same example as FIG. 6, conveying less detailedstreet data for better visibility of the reduced search area;

FIG. 8 illustrates an example embodiment of mapping information andnavigation nodes that may have been explored by other methods during thelocation reference path reconstruction or decoding step on an end usermapping device, but are filtered out by a method of an exampleembodiment of the present application when they fall outside the nodedeviation boundaries;

FIG. 9 illustrates an example embodiment of mapping information andpotential navigation nodes, that may have been explored by other methodsduring the location reference path reconstruction or decoding step on anend user mapping device, but are filtered out by a method of an exampleembodiment of the present application when they fall outside the ellipsedetermined by the location reference path distance and routing points asthe ellipse's foci;

FIG. 10 illustrates an example embodiment of a method of the presentapplication;

FIG. 11 illustrates an example hand-held device, such as personalnavigation device (PND), where an embodiment can be realized; and

FIG. 12 illustrates an example in-vehicle navigation system, where anembodiment can be realized

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

Example embodiments of the present invention will now be described withparticular reference to end user mapping devices, including but notlimited to a personal navigation device (PND). It should be remembered,however, that the teachings of the present invention are not limited toPNDs or even other navigation devices, but are instead universallyapplicable to any type of mapping devices including but not limited toprocessing devices that are configured to execute mapping software so asto provide route planning and/or navigation and/or other types ofmapping services. These include but are not limited to hand-held devicessuch as personal digital assistants (“PDAs”), personal navigationdevices (PNDs), and cell phones or other types of mobile devices thatcan perform mapping services; desktop applications, and Internetapplications in which users can generate maps showing desired places,etc., collectively referenced herein as “end user mapping devices”.

Note that servers that typically encode location references may, in someuse case scenarios, also be recipients of location reference messagesfor the purpose of decoding, and thus can be an “end user mappingdevice” which receives an enhanced location reference for pathreconstruction. Conversely, any end user mapping device such as a PND ora mobile phone may in some use cases encode a location for transmissionto other end user devices and thus may be considered a device whichtransmits an enhanced location reference. Thus, henceforth in thisapplication any location reference encoding device may be called aserver, and visa versa, any decoding device can be called end usermapping device.

Communication between such devices can be one-to-one or one-to-many,depending on the use case. Thus, the server can broadcast transmittedinformation to a plurality of end user mapping devices.

The common aspect in all of these and other types of end user mappingdevices is a map database of geographic features, vectors andattributes, and software to access, manipulate and navigate the mapdatabase in response to user inputs. It follows therefore that in thecontext of the present application, a navigation device is intended toinclude (without limitation) any type of route planning and navigationdevice, irrespective of whether that device is embodied as a PND, anavigation device built into a vehicle, or indeed a computing resource(such as a desktop or portable personal computer (PC), mobile telephoneor portable digital assistant (PDA)) executing route planning andnavigation software, and an end user mapping device is intended toinclude, but is not limited to any type navigation device or otheruseable mapping devices.

It will also be apparent from the following that the teachings ofembodiments of the present invention even have utility in circumstanceswhere a user is not seeking instructions on how to navigate from onepoint to another, but merely wishes to be provided with a view of agiven location. In such circumstances the “destination” locationselected by the user need not have a corresponding start location fromwhich the user wishes to start navigating, and as a consequencereferences herein to the “destination” location or indeed to a“destination” view should not be interpreted to mean that the generationof a route is essential, that traveling to the “destination” must occur,or indeed that the presence of a destination requires the designation ofa corresponding start location.

As shown in FIG. 1, at least one embodiment of the present applicationmay be directed to an end user mapping device 200, comprising a receiver250 to receive information from a remotely located server 302, theinformation including at least one location reference enhanced by atleast one focusing factor, computed at the server 302 based upon encodedinformation corresponding to the at least one path of the at least onelocation reference; and a processor 210 to reconstruct the at least onepath of the at least one location reference at the device (200), basedupon the computed at least one location reference enhanced by at leastone focusing factor. A non-limiting example embodiment of such an enduser mapping device 200 will be explained as follows.

FIG. 1 is an illustrative representation of electronic components of anend user mapping device 200 according to an example embodiment of thepresent invention in block component format. It should be noted that theblock diagram of the end user mapping device 200 is not inclusive of allcomponents of the mapping device, but is only representative of manyexample components.

The end user mapping device 200 is located within a housing (not shown).The housing includes a processor 210 connected to an input device 220and a display screen 240. The input device 220 can include but is notlimited to a keyboard device, voice input device, touch panel and/or anyother known input device utilized to input information; and the displayscreen 240 can include any type of display screen such as an LCDdisplay, for example. In a particular example arrangement the inputdevice 220 and display screen 240 are integrated into an integratedinput and display device, including a touchpad or touch-screen input sothat a user need only touch a portion of the display screen 240 toselect one of a plurality of display choices or to activate one of aplurality of virtual buttons.

The end user mapping device 200 may include an output device 260, inaddition to, or instead of a display device 240, for example an audibleoutput device (e.g. a loudspeaker), a text output device, etc. As outputdevice 260 can produce audible information for a user of the navigationdevice 200, it is should equally be understood that input device 220 caninclude a microphone and software for receiving input voice commands aswell.

In the navigation device 200, processor 210 is operatively connected toand set to receive input information from input device 220 via aconnection 225, and operatively connected to at least one of displayscreen 240 and output device 260, via output connections 245, to outputinformation thereto. Further, the processor 210 is operably coupled to amemory resource 230 via connection 235 and is further adapted toreceive/send information from/to input/output (I/O) ports 270 viaconnection 275, wherein the I/O port 270 is connectible to an I/O device280 external to the navigation device 200. The memory resource 230 maystore a digital map application database (or even, in at least oneinstance of one example embodiment wherein the end user mapping device200 has enough memory storage capacity, a source database) as discussedin any of the embodiments of the present invention discussed above andcomprises, for example, a volatile memory, such as a Random AccessMemory (RAM) and a non-volatile memory, for example a digital memory,such as a flash memory. The external I/O device 280 may include, but isnot limited to an external listening device such as an earpiece forexample. The connection to I/O device 280 can further be a wired orwireless connection to any other external device such as a car stereounit for hands-free operation and/or for voice activated operation forexample, for connection to an ear piece or head phones, and/or forconnection to a mobile phone for example, wherein the mobile phoneconnection may be used to establish a data connection between the enduser mapping device 200 and the internet or any other network forexample, and/or to establish a connection to a server via the internetor some other network for example.

FIG. 1 further illustrates an operative connection between the processor210 and an antenna/receiver 250 via connection 255, wherein theantenna/receiver 250 can be a GPS antenna/receiver for example. It willbe understood that the antenna and receiver designated by referencenumeral 250 are combined schematically for illustration, but that theantenna and receiver may be separately located components, and that theantenna may be a GPS patch antenna or helical antenna for example.

Further, it will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art thatthe electronic components shown in FIG. 1 are powered by power sources(not shown) in a conventional manner. As will be understood by one ofordinary skill in the art, different configurations of the componentsshown in FIG. 1 are considered to be within the scope of the presentapplication. For example, the components shown in FIG. 1 may be incommunication with one another via wired and/or wireless connections andthe like. Thus, the scope of the end user mapping device 200 of thepresent application includes a portable or handheld navigation device,other portable or hand-held mapping devices and/or includes anin-vehicle devices such as in-vehicle navigation device.

In addition, the portable or handheld end user mapping device 200 ofFIG. 1 can be connected or “docked” in a known manner to a vehicle suchas a bicycle, a motorbike, a car or a boat for example. Such an end usermapping device 200 is then removable from the docked location forportable or handheld navigation use.

Further, in at least one embodiment, not only can the end user mappingdevice 200 store a newly created digital map application database inmemory 230, but the end user mapping device 200 can perform operationsof embodiments of the method of embodiments described hereafter usingprocessor 210 of the end user mapping device 200 itself when receivinginformation (via antenna/receiver 250 for example, as discussed above).For example, the method of FIG. 10 can be performed, in at least onealternative embodiment, by processor 210 and receiver 250 within enduser mapping device 200, with the newly received location referenceenhanced by a focusing factor, from server 302.

In general terms, a modern end user mapping device 200 comprises aprocessor 210, memory 230 (at least one of volatile and non-volatile,and commonly both), and map data stored within the memory. The processor210 and memory 230 cooperate to provide an execution environment inwhich a software operating system may be established, and additionallyit is commonplace for one or more additional software programs to beprovided to enable the functionality of the end user mapping device 200to be controlled, and to provide various other functions.

Typically these devices further comprise one or more input interfaces220 that allow a user to interact with and control the device, and oneor more output interfaces 240, 260 by which information may be relayedto the user. Illustrative examples of output interfaces include a visualdisplay and a speaker for audible output. Illustrative examples of inputinterfaces include one or more physical buttons to control on/offoperation or other features of the device (which buttons need notnecessarily be on the device itself but could be on a steering wheel ifthe device is built into a vehicle), and a microphone for detecting userspeech. In a particularly preferred arrangement the output interfacedisplay 240 may be configured as a touch sensitive display (by way atouch sensitive overlay or otherwise) to additionally provide an inputinterface by which a user can operate the device by touch.

Devices of this type will also often include one or more physicalconnector interfaces by which power and optionally data signals can betransmitted to and received from the device, and optionally one or morewireless transmitters/receivers to allow communication over cellulartelecommunications and other signal and data networks, for exampleWi-Fi, Wi-Max GSM and the like.

End user mapping devices 200 of this type may also include a GPS antenna(antenna/receiver 250) of which satellite-broadcast signals, includinglocation data from a server 302 and/or from GPS satellites, can bereceived and subsequently processed to determine a current location ofthe device.

The end user mapping device 200 may also include electronic gyroscopes,accelerometers and wheel sensors which produce signals that can beprocessed to determine the current angular and linear acceleration, andin turn, and in conjunction with location information derived from theGPS signal, velocity and relative displacement of the device and thusthe vehicle in which it is mounted. Typically such features are mostcommonly provided in in-vehicle navigation systems, but may also beprovided in end user mapping devices 200 if it is expedient to do so.

The utility of such end user mapping devices 200 is manifested primarilyin their ability to determine a route between a first location(typically a start or current location) and a second location (typicallya destination). These locations can be input by a user of the end usermapping device 200, by any of a wide variety of different methods, forexample by postcode, street name and house number, previously stored“well known” destinations (such as famous locations, municipal locations(such as sports grounds or swimming baths) or other points of interest),and favorite or recently visited destinations.

Typically, the end user mapping device 200 is enabled by software forcomputing a “best” or “optimum” route between the start and destinationaddress locations from the map data. A “best” or “optimum” route isdetermined on the basis of predetermined criteria which may notnecessarily be the fastest or shortest route. The selection of the routealong which to guide the driver can be very sophisticated, and theselected route may take into account existing, predicted and dynamicallyand/or wirelessly received traffic and road information, historicalinformation about road speeds, and the driver's own preferences for thefactors determining road choice (for example the driver may specify thatthe route should not include motorways or toll roads).

In addition, the device 200 may continually monitor road and trafficconditions, and offer to or choose to change the route over which theremainder of the journey is to be made due to changed conditions. Realtime traffic monitoring systems, based on various technologies (e.g.mobile phone data exchanges, fixed cameras, GPS fleet tracking) arebeing used to identify traffic delays and to feed the information intonotification systems.

End user mapping devices 200 of this type may typically be mounted onthe dashboard or windscreen of a vehicle, but may also be formed as partof an on-board computer of the vehicle radio or indeed as part of thecontrol system of the vehicle itself (in-vehicle navigation devices).The end user mapping device 200 may also be part of a hand-held system,such as a PDA (Portable Digital Assistant) a media player, a mobilephone or the like, and in these cases, the normal functionality of thehand-held system is extended by means of the installation of software onthe device to perform both route calculation and navigation along acalculated route. Thus, the term navigation device, used throughout theapplication, encompasses any of the above.

Route planning and navigation functionality may also be provided by adesktop or mobile computing resource running appropriate software. Forexample, the Royal Automobile Club (RAC) provides an on-line routeplanning and navigation facility at http://www.rac.co.uk, which facilityallows a user to enter a start point and a destination whereupon theserver to which the user's PC is connected calculates a route (aspectsof which may be user specified), generates a map, and generates a set ofexhaustive navigation instructions for guiding the user from theselected start point to the selected destination. The facility alsoprovides for pseudo three-dimensional rendering of a calculated route,and route preview functionality which simulates a user travelling alongthe route and thereby provides the user with a preview of the calculatedroute.

In the context of an end user mapping device 200, once a route has beencalculated, the user interacts with the end user mapping device 200 toselect the desired calculated route, optionally from a list of proposedroutes. Optionally, the user may intervene in, or guide the routeselection process, for example by specifying that certain routes, roads,locations or criteria are to be avoided or are mandatory for aparticular journey. The route calculation aspect of the end user mappingdevice forms one primary function, and direction giving along such aroute is another primary function.

During direction giving along a calculated route, it is usual for suchend user mapping devices 200 to provide visual and/or audibleinstructions to guide the user along a chosen route to the end of thatroute, i.e. the desired destination. It is also usual for end usermapping devices 200 to display map information on-screen during thisnavigation phase, such information regularly being updated on-screen sothat the map information displayed is representative of the currentlocation of the device, and thus of the user or user's vehicle if thedevice is being used for in-vehicle navigation.

An icon displayed on-screen typically denotes the current devicelocation, and is centered with the map information of current andsurrounding roads in the vicinity of the current device location andother map features also being displayed. Additionally, navigationinformation may be displayed, optionally in a status bar above, below orto one side of the displayed map information, examples of navigationinformation include a distance to the next deviation from the currentroad required to be taken by the user, the nature of that deviationpossibly being represented by a further icon suggestive of theparticular type of deviation, for example a left or right turn. Thenavigation function also determines the content, duration and timing ofaudible instructions by means of which the user can be guided along theroute. As can be appreciated a simple instruction such as “turn left in100 m” requires significant processing and analysis. As previouslymentioned, user interaction with the device may be by a touch screen, oradditionally or alternately by steering column mounted remote control,by voice activation or by any other suitable method.

A further important function provided by the end user mapping device 200is automatic route re-calculation in the event that: a user deviatesfrom the previously calculated route during navigation (either byaccident or intentionally); real-time traffic conditions (locations of atraffic jam, road closure, etc. is received from a server 302,transmitted in packets and enhanced by at least one focusing factor (aswill be discussed below) dictate that an alternative route may be moreexpedient and the device is suitably enabled to recognize suchconditions automatically, or if a user actively causes the device toperform route re-calculation for any reason.

A route may be calculated with user defined criteria; for example, theuser may prefer a scenic route to be calculated by the device, or maywish to avoid any roads on which traffic congestion is likely, expectedor currently prevailing. The device software would then calculatevarious routes and weigh more favorably those that include along theirroute the highest number of points of interest (known as POIs) tagged asbeing for example of scenic beauty, or, using stored informationindicative of prevailing traffic conditions on particular roads, orderthe calculated routes in terms of a level of likely congestion or delayon account thereof. Other POI-based and traffic information-based routecalculation and navigation criteria are also possible.

Although the route calculation and navigation functions are fundamentalto the overall utility of end user mapping devices 200, it is possibleto use the end user mapping device 200 purely for information display,or “free-driving”, in which only map information relevant to the currentdevice location is displayed, and in which no route has been calculatedand no direction giving is currently being performed by the device. Sucha mode of operation is often applicable when the user already knows theroute along which it is desired to travel and does not requirenavigation assistance.

Such navigation devices 200 are of great utility when the user is notfamiliar with the route to the destination that they are navigating to.However, whilst the end user mapping device 200 is very useful inguiding the user to the destination, the user's unfamiliarity with thedestination means that the user does not know what to expect. Forexample, a user traveling to a street address may not know what thebuilding looks like and hence how to recognize the building, where theentrance to the building is, what the local environment looks like, orindeed where local facilities (such as car parking for example) arelocated.

These uncertainties can inconvenience and stress the user of thenavigation device 200. Moreover, they can significantly add to theuser's journey time as the user may have to spend a considerable amountof time actually locating the destination and, for example, appropriatenearby car parking facilities. These uncertainties affect end usermapping device 200 and in-vehicle navigation device users as well asusers making use of route planning functionality from a computer, forexample from a desktop computer at home or work.

Referring now to FIG. 2, the end user mapping device 200 may establish a“mobile” or telecommunications network connection with a server 302 viaa mobile device (not shown) (such as a mobile phone, PDA, and/or anydevice with mobile phone technology) establishing a digital connection(such as a digital connection via known Bluetooth technology forexample); or through antenna/receiver 250 assuming it includes mobilephone or other capabilities, for example. Thereafter, through itsnetwork service provider, the mobile device can establish a networkconnection (through the internet for example) with a server 302. Assuch, a “mobile” network connection may be established between the enduser mapping device 200 (which can be, and often times is mobile as ittravels alone and/or in a vehicle) and the server 302 to provide a“real-time” or at least very “up to date” gateway for information. Assuch, the end user mapping device 200 can receive and later store inmemory 230, newly received location information and focusing factors,created by the embodiments of the method to describe with regard toFIGS. 3-10 for example. Although only one end user mapping device 200 isshown in FIG. 2, it should be understood that a plurality of similar enduser mapping devices 200 could similarly operate when receivinginformation broadcast from server 302. Such aspects of informationbroadcasting are known and will not be further described for the sake ofbrevity.

The establishing of the network connection between the mobile device(via a service provider) and/or end user mapping device 200 with mobiledevice capabilities built in antenna/receiver 250, and another devicesuch as the server 302, using an internet (such as the World Wide Web)for example, can be done in a known manner. This can include use ofTCP/IP layered protocol for example. The mobile device can utilize anynumber of communication standards such as CDMA, GSM, WAN, etc. As such,the end user mapping device 200 can receive and later store in memory230, newly received location references enhanced by focusing factors foruse in location reference reconstruction and subsequent re-routing toavoid or at least reconsider travel over locations such as traffic jams,road closures, etc. reconstructed by the embodiments of the methoddescribed hereafter with regard to FIGS. 3-10 for example. Further, theend user mapping device 200 can not only receive, but can also sendinformation to the server 302, for subsequent use in the server 302obtaining further information for broadcast to other remote devices.Thus, communication between any end user mapping device 200 and server302 may be a two way communication.

As such, an internet connection may be utilized which is achieved viadata connection, via a mobile phone or mobile phone technology withinthe antenna/receiver 250 of the end user mapping device 200 for example.For this connection, an internet connection between the server 302 andthe end user mapping device 200 is established. This can be done, forexample, through a mobile phone or other mobile device and a GPRS(General Packet Radio Service)-connection (GPRS connection is ahigh-speed data connection for mobile devices provided by telecomoperators; GPRS is a method to connect to the internet).

The end user mapping device 200 can further complete a data connectionwith the mobile device, and eventually with the internet and server 302,via existing Bluetooth technology for example, in a known manner,wherein the data protocol can utilize any number of standards, such asthe GSRM, the Data Protocol Standard for the GSM standard, for example.As such, the end user mapping device 200 can receive and later store thereceived location reference in memory 230, including receivedinformation for use in reconstructing at least one path of the locationreference based upon the embodiments of the method described hereafterwith regard to FIGS. 3-10 for example.

The end user mapping device 200 may include its own mobile phonetechnology within the end user mapping device 200 itself (including anantenna for example, or optionally using the internal antenna/receiver250 of the navigation device 200). The mobile phone technology withinthe end user mapping device 200 can include internal components asspecified above, and/or can include an insertable card (e.g. SubscriberIdentity Module or SIM card), complete with necessary mobile phonetechnology and/or an antenna for example, each of which can be used as a“receiver”, to receive location reference information enhanced by afocusing factor for use in reconstructing at least one path of thelocation reference based upon the embodiments of the method describedhereafter with regard to FIGS. 3-10 for example.

As such, mobile phone technology within the end user mapping device 200can similarly establish a network connection between the end usermapping device 200 and the server 302, via the internet for example, ina manner similar to that of any mobile device. As such, the end usermapping device 200 can receive and later store in memory 230, receivedlocation reference information enhanced by a focusing factor for use inreconstructing at least one path of the location reference based uponthe embodiments of the method described hereafter with regard to FIGS.3-10 for example.

For GRPS phone settings, a Bluetooth enabled navigation device may beused to correctly work with the ever changing spectrum of mobile phonemodels, manufacturers, etc., model/manufacturer specific settings may bestored on the end user mapping device 200 for example. The data storedfor this information can be updated.

In FIG. 2 the end user mapping device 200 is depicted as being incommunication with the server 302 via a generic communications channel318 that can be implemented by any of a number of different arrangements(again, this can represent a plurality of end user mapping devices 200for receipt of broadcast information from server 302, and for individualsending of information to server 302). The server 302 and a end usermapping device 200 can communicate when a connection via communicationschannel 318 is established between the server 302 and the end usermapping device 200 (noting that such a connection can be a dataconnection via mobile device, a direct connection via personal computervia the internet, etc.). As such, the end user mapping device 200 canreceive and later store in memory 230, newly received location referenceinformation enhanced by a focusing factor for use in reconstructing atleast one path of the location reference based upon the embodiments ofthe method described hereafter with regard to FIGS. 3-10 for example.Accordingly, the method of an embodiment of the invention aims atenhancing dynamic location reference with information which aids infaster and less ambiguous decoding of the LR on the remote device,independently of map data origin or format, for the purpose of routingaround the location, or otherwise making the user aware of relevantdynamic content.

The server 302 includes, in addition to other components which may notbe illustrated, a processor 304 operatively connected to a memory 306and further operatively connected, via a wired or wireless connection314, to a mass data storage device 312. The processor 304 is furtheroperatively connected to transmitter 308 and receiver 310, to transmitand send information to and from remote devices such as end user mappingdevice 200 (noting that the “remote device” as referenced throughout thepresent application may include navigation devices and/or other serversor remote databases) via communications channel 318 (and/or toreceive/send information to/from other databases, such as a databasefrom which traffic location information is received regarding trafficjams, road closures, etc.). The signals sent and received may includedata, communication, and/or other propagated signals. The transmitter308 and receiver 310 may be selected or designed according to thecommunications requirement and communication technology used in thecommunication design for the navigation system 200. Further, it shouldbe noted that the functions of transmitter 308 and receiver 310 may becombined into a single transceiver.

Server 302 is further connected to (or includes) a mass storage device312, noting that the mass storage device 312 may be coupled to theserver 302 via communication link 314. The mass storage device 312contains a store of navigation data and map information, and can againbe a separate device from the server 302 or can be incorporated into theserver 302.

The end user mapping device 200 (or any other remote device., or anyother of a plurality of remote devices) is adapted to communicate withthe server 302 through communications channel 318, and includesprocessor 210, memory 230, etc. as previously described with regard toFIG. 1, as well as transmitter 320 and receiver 322 to send and receivesignals and/or data through the communications channel 318, noting thatthese devices can further be used to communicate with devices other thanserver 302. Further, the transmitter 320 and receiver 322 are selectedor designed according to communication requirements and communicationtechnology used in the communication design for the end user mappingdevice 200 and the functions of the transmitter 320 and receiver 322 maybe combined into a single transceiver. As such, the end user mappingdevice 200 can receive and later store in memory 230, newly receivedlocation information and focusing factors for use in re-routing to avoidlocation references created by the embodiments of the method describedhereafter with regard to FIGS. 3-10 for example.

Software stored in server memory 306 provides instructions for theprocessor 304 and allows the server 302 to provide services to thenavigation device 200. One service provided by the server 302 involvesprocessing requests from the end user mapping device 200 andtransmitting navigation data from the mass data storage 312 to thenavigation device 200. Another service provided by the server 302includes processing the navigation data using various algorithms for adesired application and sending the results of these calculations to thenavigation device 200.

The communication channel 318 generically represents the propagatingmedium or path that connects the end user mapping device 200 and theserver 302. Both the server 302 and end user mapping device 200 includea transmitter for transmitting data through the communication channeland a receiver for receiving data that has been transmitted through thecommunication channel.

The communication channel 318 is not limited to a particularcommunication technology. Additionally, the communication channel 318 isnot limited to a single communication technology; that is, the channel318 may include several communication links that use a variety oftechnology. For example, the communication channel 318 can be adapted toprovide a path for electrical, optical, and/or electromagneticcommunications, etc. As such, the communication channel 318 includes,but is not limited to, one or a combination of the following: electriccircuits, electrical conductors such as wires and coaxial cables, fiberoptic cables, converters, radio-frequency (RF) waves, the atmosphere,empty space, etc. Furthermore, the communication channel 318 can includeintermediate devices such as routers, repeaters, buffers, transmitters,and receivers, for example.

In one illustrative arrangement, the communication channel 318 includestelephone and computer networks. Furthermore, the communication channel318 may be capable of accommodating wireless communication such as radiofrequency, microwave frequency, infrared communication, etc.Additionally, the communication channel 318 can accommodate satellitecommunication.

The communication signals transmitted through the communication channel318 include, but are not limited to, signals as may be required ordesired for given communication technology. For example, the signals maybe adapted to be used in cellular communication technology such as TimeDivision Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access(FDMA), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), and Global System forMobile Communications (GSM), etc. Both digital and analogue signals canbe transmitted through the communication channel 318. These signals maybe modulated, encrypted and/or compressed signals as may be desirablefor the communication technology.

The server 302 includes a remote server accessible by the end usermapping device 200 or any other remote device via a wireless channel.The server 302 may include a network server located on a local areanetwork (LAN), wide area network (WAN), virtual private network (VPN),etc.

The server 302 may include a personal computer such as a desktop orlaptop computer, and the communication channel 318 may be a cableconnected between the personal computer and the navigation device 200.Alternatively, a personal computer may be connected between the end usermapping device 200 and the server 302 to establish an internetconnection between the server 302 and the remote devices, including enduser mapping device 200 for example. Alternatively, a mobile telephoneor other handheld device may establish a wireless connection to theinternet, for connecting the end user mapping device 200 to the server302 via the internet. As such, the end user mapping device 200 canreceive and later store in memory 230, newly received location referenceinformation enhanced by a focusing factor for use in reconstructing atleast one path of the location reference based upon the embodiments ofthe method described hereafter with regard to FIGS. 3-10 for example.

The end user mapping device 200 may be provided with information, suchas map database information in the form of a digital map applicationdatabase for example, generated from the digital map source databasefrom the server 302 via information downloads which may be periodicallyupdated automatically (such as map or map database information forexample) or upon a user connecting end user mapping device 200 to theserver 302 and/or may be more dynamic upon a more constant or frequentconnection being made between the server 302 and end user mapping device200 via a wireless mobile connection device and TCP/IP connection forexample (to receive information including location reference informationenhanced by a focusing factor for use in reconstructing at least onepath of the location reference based upon the embodiments of the methoddescribed hereafter with regard to FIGS. 3-10 for example). For manydynamic calculations, the processor 304 in the server 302 may be used tohandle the bulk of the processing needs as will be discussed hereafter,however, processor 210 of end user mapping device 200 can also handleprocessing and calculation for re-routing based upon received locationreference information enhanced by a focusing factor for use inreconstructing at least one path of the location reference based uponthe embodiments of the method described hereafter with regard to FIGS.3-10 for example, oftentimes independent of a continued connection tothe server 302. Again, as would be understood by one of ordinary skillin the art, any of the techniques of embodiments of the methods of thepresent application described hereafter, are equally applicable to thedigital map database of the end user mapping device 200 discussedherein.

As indicated above in FIG. 1, an end user mapping device 200 includes aprocessor 210, an input device 220, and a display screen 240. The inputdevice 220 and display screen 240 may be integrated into an integratedinput and display device to enable both input of information (via directinput, menu selection, etc.) and display of information through a touchpanel screen, for example. Such a screen may be a touch input LCDscreen, for example, as is well known to those of ordinary skill in theart. Further, the end user mapping device 200 can also include anyadditional input device 220 and/or any additional output device 260,such as audio input/output devices for example.

Digital map databases are known to include address segment vectors orstreet segments having starting and ending points, street names andother types of attributes, and address ranges representing assignedaddresses on that segment. Such digital map databases (map databases)are used in geocoding, GIS and navigation techniques, for example, whenlocating a place, such as a desired travel destination for example (forexample, selected or input through an integrated input and displaydevice of a navigation device for example). Digital map databases (forexample, digital map databases that are commonly maintained by vendorsof digital map databases and referred herein as digital map sourcedatabases) can be stored in a central server 302 (and can be accesseddirectly for geocoding applications for example), and reduced versionsthereof (referenced herein as digital map application databases) can bedownloaded or otherwise transferred to memories of devices including butnot limited to geocoding devices, in-vehicle navigation devices,personal navigation devices and/or any other devices with navigationcapabilities including but not limited to cell phones, PDAs, etc. and/orcan be stored in a memory or stored on any type of digital media. Suchdigital map source databases can include address segment vectors (and/oraddress sub-segment vectors which will be discussed hereafter) includingmany types of attributes assigned to the stored address segment vectors(and/or address sub-segment vectors). Typically, digital map applicationdatabases will be formed from such digital map source databases and willinclude address segment vectors (and/or address sub-segment vectorswhich will be discussed hereafter) with a relatively fewer number oftypes of attributes assigned to the stored address segment vectors(and/or address sub-segment vectors). Techniques for forming suchdigital map application databases from digital map source databasesand/or copying portions of digital map source databases to form thedigital map application databases are known to those of ordinary skillin the art and will not be discussed herein for the sake of brevity.

Such digital map application databases are typically downloadable to anend user mapping device 200, or any other remote device with geocodingand/or navigation capabilities and/or mapping capabilities, by thedevice accessing and downloading or copying new digital map applicationdatabases from the server, periodically via the internet or a mobilenetwork connection for example (such as every few months when newinformation is received for example), or for in-vehicle navigationdevices, by a new updated digital map application database being storedon a CD-ROM for example, wherein the CD-ROM then can be input into thein-vehicle navigation device of the vehicle to update the digital mapapplication database stored in the memory of the in-vehicle navigationdevice. Such updating techniques are not limited to those discussedabove and can include any technique for updating digital map applicationdatabases, and are known to those of ordinary skill in the art and willnot be discussed herein for the sake of brevity.

At least one embodiment of the present application is directed towardencoding and decoding of linear location references when a path needs tobe computed twice: first as part of a location encoding process, andthen as part of path reconstruction step in location reference decodingprocess. In at least one embodiment of the present application, locationreference information is conveyed in a more universally useable mannerand/or conveyed in a manner which improves the decoding process at theremote device (such as an end user mapping device, for example), byreducing path search area, for example, and thus the number of nodes tobe processed during path reconstruction in the decoding process bymaking use of properties of the corresponding path computed during theencoding process. Reducing path search area can be achieved by computingand using a search area focusing factor to enhance a location referencebefore transmission, the focusing factor including but not limited toheuristic value; path distance limiting the search by elliptical area;path node deviation values; etc. In at least one embodiment of thepresent application each path in the LR should have a correspondingfocusing factor and the same type of the focusing factor should be usedby encoding and decoding processes. In at least one embodiment, toincrease the speed of path reconstruction, focusing factor(s) for agiven LR can be sent to the decoding device as part of the LR, oroptionally the encoding and decoding devices can use agreed upon defaultfocusing factors for the subset of paths that fit such default focusingfactor

An embodiment of the present application is directed to a method. Asshown in FIG. 3, a method of an embodiment of the present applicationmay include: S1 at least one of obtaining and receiving informationregarding at least one location reference (the information including,for example, a location of the location reference, the locationreference itself, etc.) at a server 302 for transmission to at least oneremote device 200; S2 determining at least one path of the at least onelocation reference corresponding to at least one pair of points withinmapping information (between the location reference routing points forexample) at the server 302; S3 computing at least one focusing factor atthe server 302 based upon encoded information corresponding to thedetermined at least one path of the at least one location reference(such as shortest path properties for example) and enhancing the atleast one location reference by the computed at least one focusingfactor; and S4 transmitting the at least one location reference enhancedby the computed at least one focusing factor from the server 302 to theat least one remote device 200.

The encoding may employ one or more shortest path computations,corresponding to the number of consecutive routing point pairs (for thepurpose of explanation, let us consider a start and an end point of alocation reference to be a routing point). In an embodiment of thepresent application, at least one focusing factor is computed at theserver 302, for each of at least one or more contiguous paths of thelocation reference to aid in reconstructing one or more correspondingpaths of the location reference. The location reference (LR) path(s) canbe defined by segments (referred herein as paths) between pairs ofstart/end/routing points (referred collectively herein as routingpoints), for example, at the server 302; the server 302 then enhancingthe location reference by the computed focusing factor and transmittingthe at least one location reference enhanced by the at least onefocusing factor (noting that multiple location references may betransmitted to and received by one or more remote devices, eachbroadcast as a message in packets for example) to the at least oneremote device.

In at least one embodiment, the at least one location reference enhancedby at least one focusing factor is usable by the at least one remotedevice 200 in reconstructing the at least one path of the locationreference, which can thereafter be used in route reconstruction. Morespecifically, in at least one embodiment, the at least one locationreference enhanced by the at least one focusing factor is useable by theat least one remote device 200 in determining a search area inreconstruction of the at least one path of at least one the locationreference; and in one example embodiment, a reduced search area (such asa relatively elliptical search area for example). Further, in at leastone embodiment, the at least one location reference enhanced by the atleast one focusing factor is usable in regulating node filtering inreconstruction of at least one path of the at least one locationreference.

In at least one embodiment of the present application, the methoddescribed above is usable in processing a received location reference ata server 302 corresponding to at least one pair of routing points withinspatial content information (e.g. map data) stored at the server 302. Anencoded location reference usually includes starting and ending points,and typically is stored along with routing points or their equivalents,spatial markers, to help disambiguate a location on an encoding device,wherein routing points are placed along a location reference such thatconnecting paths or path segments between each consecutive pair ofrouting points coincide with the shortest path between them (noting thatwithin the embodiments of present application, starting, ending andother routing points are considered “routing points” and path segmentsof a location reference are considered as “paths”, such that a locationreference may include one or more paths, each running between a pair ofrouting points). As explained above, map databases may vary in contentand organization so the conveying of map coordinate information viamerely latitude and longitude may result or may not result in areceiving remote device (such as an end user mapping device 200, whichcould be a navigation device) being able to reconstruct the path(s) ofthe location reference.

Depending on the accuracy of the map information stored in the memory230 of the remote end user mapping device 200 for example, or theencoding server device 302, if only absolute latitude and longitudeinformation were received, location reference information may besignificantly off and pinpoint a wrong location on the remote device(end user mapping devices 200) during decoding or reconstruction of theat least one path of the location reference. In addition, in such as enduser mapping devices 200, while encoding information on a server 302 maybe efficient as capabilities of the processor 304 may be much strongerthan that of the remote navigation device 200, decoding orreconstruction of the at least one path of the location reference usingpath computation in the processor 210 of the end user mapping device 200may be significantly slower. Using focusing factor(s), as is done inembodiments of the present application, allows for faster shortest pathcomputation during the LR decoding process and facilitates fewer LRmessages being dropped at the remote device when the decoding queueoverflows or decoding process times out, for example.

Accordingly, the method of an embodiment of the present application aimsat providing information wherein information regarding a locationreference (a location of and/or the location reference itself forexample) is received or obtained from any of another end user mappingdevice 200, another server, etc., and a path(s) of the locationreference is determined or otherwise reconstructed corresponding to apair(s) of points within mapping information at the server 302. Basedupon an embodiment of the present application, at least one focusingfactor can be computed based upon the encoded information and thelocation reference can be enhanced by the computer at least one focusingfactor, and then conveyed or transmitted to a remote device such as enduser mapping device 200 in a way which is not dependent upon aparticular mapping database stored in memory 230 of the navigationdevice for example, and which improves the speed of the decoding (forsubsequent use such as for rerouting around the location reference,etc.) at the remote device.

As explained above, mapping information may be encoded and stored atserver 302, utilizing a memory 306, potentially along with a mass datastorage 312 for example. In modern times, map geometry, topology andconnectivity reflecting objective reality of a road network aredigitized based on large scale aerial and satellite images and highlyaccurate field data collection units. While map data from differentproviders will not coincide, at least in high-traffic areas data qualityand links travel distances are expected not to be far off. This improveschances of successful LR decoding when an LR reconstruction method usesa sequence of shortest paths, in addition to other attributes.

As stated above, the method of at least one embodiment of the presentapplication aims to both increase location referencing success rate anddecrease computing time in the path reconstruction step of the decodingprocess.

In an embodiment of the present application, the inventor has recognizedthat, while determining one of more paths that are a part of a locationreference, the server 302 may derive and pass-on to the end user mappingdevice 200 knowledge about properties of the computed path(s) of thelocation reference(s) that may speed-up reconstruction of the path(s)during the LR decoding process at the end user mapping device 2.Accordingly, in the method of an embodiment of the present application,the server 302 can enhance a location reference to be sent to a decodingdevice such as a end user mapping device 200, with at least one computedfocusing factor that can include, but is not limited to, one focusingfactor for each shortest path in the encoded location reference. Toobtain benefit of embodiments of the present application, focusingfactors, such as dynamic computed focusing factors for example, shouldbe added to information pertaining to each path of the locationreference, to thereby enhance the location reference by the computedfocusing factor for subsequent transmission to the remote device(s).

Typically the processor 304 may include relatively stronger processingcapabilities than processors 210 of end user mapping devices 200 forexample, wherein the at least one computed focusing factor will therebyhelp increase speed at the remote decoding device, such as a end usermapping device 200 for example, in reconstructing the at least one pathof the location reference (and thus take faster action on the decodingdevice if the decoded LR and its content are relevant to the user travelplans). However, powerful decoding devices, such as a server, decodinghigh loads of LRs may also benefit from faster computation. Thus, itshould be noted that although embodiments of the present applicationgenerally discuss a server computing focusing factors and transmittingenhanced location references, and although embodiments of the presentapplication generally discuss an end user mapping or other remote devicereceiving enhanced location references, enhanced by focusing factors,other servers may be the remote devices receiving the enhanced locationreferences (server to server, for example) and even, if processing powerpermits, end user mapping devices may compute location references withfocusing factors and transmit enhanced location references (to remotedevices which may be servers, end user mapping devices, etc.). Thus, akey aspect of at least one embodiment of the present application ismodifying a location reference to enhance the decoding process at aremote device. Faster decoding may be achieved as follows.

The decoding process includes reconstructing paths between routingpoints of a LR. For example, the location reference may be a referenceto a traffic jam, which may be one a stretch of a highway, or may be amore complex set of road segments that describe, for example, a pathfrom a baseball stadium to a freeway entrance (just after a game ends,for example). Dynamic content pertaining to a location reference may bereceived or otherwise obtained by the server 302, which then wants tobroadcast, for example, the location reference to remote devices, suchas end user mapping devices 200 or other servers for example.

In an embodiment of the present application, the server 302 uses mapinformation in memory 306 and/or in mass storage 312 to encode thereceived or obtained LR. In the process, it defines routing points andcomputes shortest paths between points to cover the entire referencelocation, for example, from a start point (s) to a first routing point(rp1), a path from rp1 to a second routing point rp2, and a third pathfrom rp2 to and end point (e). Points s, rp1, rp2, and e are normallyincluded in the LR encoding. For each shortest path within the locationreference, the encoding process adds a focusing factor for example, tofacilitate faster path reconstruction on a decoding device. A focusingfactor is designed to reduce path search area during the pathcomputation of the location reference encoding process employed on aserver 302 for example, or location reference path reconstruction ordecoding on a remote device (such as end user mapping device 200 forexample). The speed of path computation may be viewed as beingproportional to the number of nodes explored. Normally path search areacannot be limited arbitrarily, lest a “shortest” path will not be found,or a computed path may not be the “shortest” under a defined costcriteria.

The inventors have discovered, in an embodiment of the presentapplication, that the field of location referencing has a uniqueadvantage. Since LR path(s) are computed in the encoding process, anfocusing factor for limiting path search area can be derived or computedfrom the properties of each path of a location reference, based on itsdeviation from the straight line connecting its routing points forexample, during that path computation (specifically, the pathbacktracing step) on the server 302. These focusing factors, for eachpath of the LR, can be then included in the LR encoding (enhancing theLR by the focusing factor(s)) to limit the search area for that pathwithout a penalty when used during a path reconstruction process. Theterm focusing factor includes, but is not limited to, a path costheuristic parameter or value; a path distance relating to a reducedsearch area such as an ellipse for example; and/or path extent deviationvalues. Computation of these parameters or values during the encodingprocess on the server 302, and consequent use during the decoding areexplained below. The at least one focusing factor can then be used toenhance the location reference can then be transmitted to the at leastone remote device, such as an end user mapping device 200 for example.As such, the location reference enhanced by the at least one focusingfactor can be used at the remote device in reconstructing the at leastone path of the location reference in a manner which accurately conveysthe location reference and which includes a small amount of transmittedinformation (and thus a small amount of received and processedinformation at the end user mapping device 200).

On the side of the end user mapping device 200 (or other remote deviceor devices), the end user mapping device 200 can use the transmittedinformation to reconstruct the at least one path of the locationreference. This can be done irrespective of the map version or mapvendor of the map stored at the end user mapping device, as the receivedinformation is only a definition of the spatial extent of the locationreference, for example. The travel route of a user of the end usermapping device 200 may coincide with the location reference path(s)wholly or partly, or not at all. However, if wholly or partly, then theend user mapping device 200 can then compute a new travel route, derivedat least in part by taking into account the at least one path of thetransmitted at least one location reference enhanced by the at least onefocusing factor. For example, the new travel route may be computed atthe end user mapping device 200, at least in part, by informationobtained by the reference location that describes where to place trafficjam delays, for example, which can be, in turn, reconstructed, at leastin part, by using the at least one location reference enhanced by the atleast one focusing factor.

In another embodiment, a mapping company can encode a LR and transmit itto another mapping company (server to server for example), for thepurpose of conveying, for example, an update of map attributes for thethat linear location of the location reference. In yet anotherembodiment, an end user may encode a location reference to channel to“friends” or other end users, a scenic linear location. In yet anotherembodiment, an end user may encode an LR to report a map error to themap provider server. In yet another embodiment, the LR can be encoded toreport processed or raw probe data by mobile devices for compactcommunication. In yet another embodiment, an end user may encode an LRto report a stretch of road, for example, the location reference may bea reference to a traffic jam, which may be one a stretch of a highway,or may be a more complex set of road segments that describe, forexample, a path from a baseball stadium to a freeway entrance (justafter a game ends, for example). Thus, it should be understood that theuse of traffic jams as LRs is merely one of many example embodiments ofan LR, and how it can be transmitted to and used at an end user mappingdevice 200. As such, the present application should not be considered tobe limited to LRs involving traffic jams, road closures, etc.

In an embodiment of the present application, the at least one locationreference enhanced by the at least one focusing factor is usable by theat least one remote device in reconstructing the at least one path ofthe at least one location reference. Reconstructing a path (at least onepath of a location reference) means computing it on the remote end usermapping device 200, using locally stored map data. By employing focusingfactor(s) computed for LRs on the server 302 for each of its paths, forexample, and enhancing LRs based upon focusing factors, the search areafor path reconstruction can, for many paths, be reduced and caneliminate processing of nodes outside of that search area at the enduser mapping device 200. Thus, in at least one embodiment of the presentapplication, the at least one location reference enhanced by the atleast one focusing factor is not only useable by the at least one remotedevice in determining a search area in reconstruction of the at leastone path of at least one the location reference, the at least onelocation reference enhanced by the at least one focusing factor is alsouseable in determining a reduced search area in reconstruction of the atleast one path of the at least one location reference. This isillustrated by comparing FIG. 5 to FIG. 6 or FIG. 7.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example embodiment of mapping information andnavigation nodes explored during the location reference path computationstep of the encoding process employed on a server 302, or a linearreference path reconstruction or decoding step on a remote device (enduser mapping device 200, another server, etc.), without a focusingfactor (heuristic value zero), when using commonly employed shortestpath algorithm by Dijkstra. FIG. 4 shows an example map for a roadnetwork in San Francisco, Calif. This map is merely an example of a roadnetwork map, and should not be considered to be limited thereto in anyway.

With regard to an example location reference path 400, an originlocation is identified by element 402. A destination element isidentified by element 404. The picture illustrates path search areaduring bi-directional search, with a heuristic focusing factor value ofzero (no heuristic applied and thus of the search). Each of the pointsincluding solid circles 404 and open circles 408 represent nodes on asearch graph, wherein those on a periphery of the path 400 are calledthe wave-front. Each node stores its cost of travel from the center ofthe wave 400. The least cost node on the wave front will then be the oneto be propagated during route determination.

Heuristic values may be used to adjust node costs so as to favor nodesclosest to the destination during exploration. FIG. 4 illustrates a casewhen heuristic value is not used; wherein a path search area aroundrouting points resembles a circle (a sphere on a graph).

FIG. 5 illustrates the effect of the heuristic value 1 (a theoreticalmaximum that still guarantees a “shortest” path); here, the path searcharea narrows. Usually routing systems find a reasonable heuristic valuebetween 0 and 1 through careful empirical tuning, and it remainsconstant for a given approach in shortest path computations. Followingthat tradition, LR encoding and decoding typically use the samearchitecture-wide heuristics. In an embodiment of the present invention,encoding uses a static admissible heuristic value, necessary to ensurethat the shortest path will be found according to the cost criteria,while decoding uses a transmitted dynamic focusing factor (derived fromthe properties of the path computed during encoding), to reduce pathreconstruction search area (and hence the number of nodes to beprocessed and decoding computing time) to the learned spatial extent ofthe actual path to be reconstructed.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example embodiment of mapping information andnavigation nodes explored during the location reference path computationstep of the encoding process on the server device, or a locationreference path reconstruction or decoding step on a remote device, uponreceipt of a focusing factor with heuristic value of 1 (a theoreticalmaximum for admissible heuristic value that guarantees an optimal pathwhen using A* algorithm). FIG. 5 illustrates the same path computationas FIG. 4, except with a heuristics focusing factor of one instead ofzero (namely a theoretical maximum focusing factor that guarantees anoptimal path). This means that each node cost on the wave-front issummed up with its estimated cost to the center of an opposite wave, anestimate being counted at 100% of the cost. As can be seen in FIG. 5, byutilizing an optimal focusing factor of 1 at the end user mapping device200 or other remote device, the number of nodes 406 and nodes 408 in thesearch area is greatly reduced from that of FIG. 4 (which includes nofocusing factor), which will thus translate into a faster reconstructionof the corresponding location reference on a decoding device, such asend user mapping device 200

FIG. 6 illustrates an example embodiment of mapping information andnavigation nodes, explored during the linear reference pathreconstruction or decoding step on a remote device, upon receipt of anexample heuristic value (as a focusing factor of the enhanced locationreference). FIG. 6 illustrates a first example of how the knowledge ofcharacteristics of an already computed path, which is an encoded pathknown at server 302 for example, can be used to improve the speed oflocation reference path reconstruction at the remote device, such as enduser mapping device 200. In this path computation, the heuristic valueis 2, namely twice the theoretical maximum. It is possible to use such astrong heuristics without risking failure in reconstructing a shortestpath in the navigation device 200, only because path characteristicsbetween a starting node 402 and an ending node 404 are already known atthe server 302 based upon the encoding path computation. As can be seenin FIG. 6, by further increasing the heuristic value, the number ofnodes 406 and 408 within the search area will be further greatly reducedat the end user mapping device 200, even when compared to that of FIG. 5for example.

FIG. 7 illustrates the same example as FIG. 6, conveying less detailedstreet data for better visibility of the reduced search area. This moreclearly conveys the facts that when using a focusing factor computedbased upon known locations between nodes at server 302, a very limitedsearch area for node reconstruction will be conveyed to the end usermapping device 200 or other remote device via the calculated focusingfactor, for subsequent route determination, including re-routingdetermination. Again, the number of nodes 406 and 408 is greatly reducedfrom that of FIG. 4, or even FIG. 5 for example.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show path search area greatly reduced to a shaperesembling an ellipse on the planar graph, when using a heuristic valueof 1.5. This dependency can be expressed as A=F(h), where A is a searcharea, and (h) is a the heuristic value that depends on the maximum pathextent deviation, or maximum distance of the computed path nodes to thestraight line between its routing points. Thus, in at least oneembodiment of the present application, the at least one focusing factorincludes at least one heuristic value, computed as a function of pathnode deviation, based upon the encoded information. The function ispreferably reversely monotonic: the larger the extent of the path aboutthe airline distance, the smaller the heuristic value. Thus, as the pathnode deviation is relatively increased, the at least one heuristic valueis relatively decreased and as the path node deviation is relativelydecreased, the at least one heuristic value is relatively increased.Path deviation could be computed during the backtracing step of theoriginal path computation. Precise shape of a heuristic function couldbe determined empirically after experimenting with data, using densemaps of different cities where a decrease in the search area cansignificantly speed up computation. The function then will be a look-upfrom the table. For compression reasons, a stair-wise function could beused, where the domain of the function is divided into ranges, and theheuristics has the same value for each path extent value inside itsrange. Each range has a different heuristic value that would also bereversely monotonic to deviation values of the range. The value can bevery compact, depending on specific requirements.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example embodiment of mapping information andnavigation nodes that may have been explored by other methods during thelocation reference path reconstruction or decoding step on an end usermapping device, but are filtered out by a method of an exampleembodiment of the present application when they fall outside the nodedeviation boundaries. In this example embodiment, use is made ofproperties of a pre-computed path between nodes to optimize pathreconstruction. A portion of the path after left turns towards thedestination is a maximum deviation from path nodes to a straight linesegment between an origin 402 and a destination 404, drawn as a dashedline 410 surrounding the nodes 402 and 404. The dashed line 410 alongwith the lateral extent form a bounding rectangle that limits the searcharea based on maximum deviation. Nodes in the search wave front, whichfall outside the box, are eliminated from search. by the remote device,such as navigation device 200, during route determination, increasingcompute speed.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example embodiment of mapping information andpotential navigation nodes, that may have been explored by other methodsduring the location reference path reconstruction or decoding step on anend user mapping device, but are filtered out by a method of an exampleembodiment of the present application when they fall outside the ellipsedetermined by the location reference path distance and routing points asthe ellipse's foci. In FIG. 9, known path distance at the server 302 andproperties of an ellipse are known to minimize a search area 412,identified by the dashed lines forming an elliptical shape as shown inFIG. 9.

Similarly, other focusing factors or criteria described above will inmany cases may yield a smaller search area (such as the area within thedotted rectangle on FIG. 8, or an ellipse on FIG. 9), and thus fastercomputing time at the end user mapping device 200. It should be stressedthat focusing factors for example, can be used for the secondcomputation of the same path of a location reference (when used toenhance the location reference and thus transmitted as part of thelocation reference), when actual path extent vs. a straight line isalready determined during the original path computation and storage onthe server 302. Thus, in at least one embodiment of the presentapplication, the at least one location reference enhanced by the atleast one focusing factor is useable by the at least one remote devicein regulating node filtering in reconstruction of the at least one pathof the at least one location reference.

Location reference is a rather unique field where the same path(s) ofthe location reference typically needs to be computed twice (first atthe server 302 receiving or obtaining information regarding the locationreference such as a location and/or the location reference itself, andthen again at the end user mapping device 200 (remote device), which canreceive and reconstruct the location reference path(s)). Path distanceis another example of how a focusing factor may greatly limit the searcharea. When a computed path distance is sent to the end user mappingdevice 200, as a focusing factor portion of the enhanced locationreference, to improve or even optimize path reconstruction, it can beused to filter out nodes that fall outside, for example, of theelliptical area enclosing the path being reconstructed, as shown on FIG.9, whereby path routing points may be the ellipse foci and actual pathdistance defines the area of the ellipse for example. Any node and linkthat falls outside the area of the ellipse (preferably padded somewhatto compensate for possible coordinate accuracy threshold betweendifferent maps) is filtered out from processing at the end user mappingdevice 200. Thus, the at least one focusing factor may be expressed aspath distance corresponding to the at least one path of the at least onelocation reference. Further, the focusing factor may be expressed as arelative measure of path distance vs. straight line distance between thepath routing points, for example a percentage of path distance over thestraight line.

Further, the received information may include at least one pair ofpoints and a path distance over a distance between the at least one pairof points. Thus the distance, the path distance over a distance or anycombination of these can be used as a focusing factor to filter outnodes in the path reconstruction at the remote device.

In an embodiment of the present application, a focusing factor can alsobe expressed as a path extent rectangle, derived from a maximumdeviation of the computed path nodes from the straight line connectingits routing points along and across the path. Such a rectangle can beexpressed as two offset values that behave similarly to the heuristicfunction and path ellipse discussed above, for the purpose ofeliminating non-promising nodes from path reconstruction process at theend user mapping device 200. FIG. 8 illustrates a resulting search areaand reduction on total processed nodes. Thus, by computing shortestpaths of the location reference on the encoding server 302 and byenhancing location reference with a focusing factor(s) for each shortestpath in the encoded reference location at the server 302 (which can thenbe transmitted from the server 302 to at least one remote device such asend user mapping device 200 for example), the decoding process (for thereconstruction of the at least one path of the location reference) atthe at least one remote device (end user mapping device 200) will beimproved by substantially reducing path computing in the reconstructionof the at least one path of the location reference on the at least oneremote device (noting again that one or more location references and oneor more computed focusing factors can be used to enhance the locationreference transmitted and then received and used by the remote device inreconstructing the at least one path of the location reference, andnoting again that such enhanced location reference(s) can be broadcastto and then used by a plurality of remote devices in reconstructing theat least one path of the location reference). FIG. 9 illustrates reducedsearch area and nodes that are outside, therefore eliminated fromprocessing.

In an embodiment, the server 302 is transmitting a location reference(path(s)) that defines a linear location such as an event like a trafficjam, for example. Once the LR is decoded, focusing factors can bediscarded. However, if a specific location referencing method used doesnot explicitly include an indication of an area to which the LR applies,and useful information can be obtained only by way of reconstructing theLR path(s), then path optimization factor(s) could be used prior to pathreconstruction, for example, to check if a given LR is relevant to thatend user device 200 (for instance, a traffic jam can be outside theroute of travel, in which case the LR could be discarded without fulldecoding). Thus location facilitation parameters can be useful toeliminate unneeded at the at least one remote device.

In the method of an embodiment of the present application, functionalroad classes may be mapped into smaller sets of categories and thusnegative effects of ambiguous FRC mapping between different encoding anddecoding map data can be mitigated by the remote or end user mappingdevice 200 during the path reconstruction process. When path links areweighted by an FRC, the cost of traversal of a path link can be madecheaper or more expensive, depending on its FRC. Since path search isdriven by node costs, a mismatch between a link FRC in encoding anddecoding of maps is likely to produce a different “shortest” path. In atleast one embodiment of the present application, FRCs could be mappedinto a small number of categories, for example three, such as, forexample: a category for top highway FRCs; one category for all ambiguousmid-tier range of FRCs; and a separate category for low-levelresidential and closed roads such as dead ends for example. In makingroute determination calculations at the encoding server 302 and indecoding at an end user mapping device 200, all FRCs in a particularcategory carry equal weight in path cost computations. These categoriescan be transmitted to the at least one remote device from the server 302as part of the location facilitation parameters, for example.

In another embodiment, the set of FRCs may map into just one category,making the cost of traversal equal for all roads to thereby eliminatethe need to rely on faulty FRC matching between an encoding server 302and an end user mapping device 200. A resulting path search may bedriven by more objective measures of the cost, namely, the true shortestdistance computed at the sever 302 from inherent properties of spatialdata.

In at least one embodiment of the present application, a focusing factorcan include heuristics to focus exploration toward the destination,which may further narrow the search and thus make path determinationfaster (as will be described further with regard to FIGS. 3-10 forexample). To achieve that, node costs can be computed by utilizinginformation encoded at the server 302, in computing node cost at the enduser mapping device 200 or other remote device. Thus, as the path nodedeviation is relatively increased, the at least one heuristic value isrelatively decreased and as the path node deviation is relativelydecreased, the at least one heuristic value is relatively increased.

In another embodiment, maximum deviation of path nodes and links fromthe straight line segment connecting two routing points can be computedon an encoding device within server 302 for example. Using deviationvalues, a rectangle could be drawn centered along this straight segmentconnecting two routing points, which would enclose both routing pointsand all nodes on the shortest path computed for example on the server302. While reconstructing the shortest path between the two routingpoints on the decoding map, propagation by the processor 210 at the enduser mapping device 200 could filter out nodes outside of thisrectangle, slightly increased in size for possible variation of dataaccuracy between different map databases. In an embodiment of thepresent application, the encoding of information can use a staticsystem-wide focusing factor and can compute a dynamic focusing factorfor decoding that can vary depending on specifics of a locationreference, which varies depending on specifics of the locationreference. As with other focusing factor embodiments, a default valuecan be selected for the most common cases to optionally eliminatesending the focusing factor to the end user device 302 for all computedpaths meeting the default criteria, while the method would reduce searcharea and filter out unpromising nodes according to the default value.

In one embodiment of the focusing factor a heuristic value which can becomputed or calculated at the server 302 based upon encoded informationcorresponding to the determined location information, and which can betransmitted from the server 302 to at least one remote device, such asend user mapping device 200 for example, can be a function of maximumknown deviation. The function may be largely monotonic, wherein thelarger the deviation, the smaller the focusing factor. The precise shapeof a function can be determined empirically after experimenting withdata. For compression reasons, the method of an embodiment of thepresent application could use a stair-wise function, wherein the domainof this function may be divided into ranges, and the focusing factor mayhave the same value for each deviation value inside its range. Eachrange may have a different focusing factor value that is also reverselymonotonic to deviation values of the range. Thus, the heuristic valuecan be very compact, depending on specific requirements.

Heuristics are used in algorithms to focus a search during routedetermination, toward a destination, which otherwise explores nodesindiscriminately in all directions. Path exploration for routedetermination is in the order of least cost node, on a node by nodebasis. Thus, costs must be determined and weighed, to select the nextnode in the route. To use heuristics computed at the server 302 as afocusing factors, node cost on the decoding device combines node costthe origin to the node on the wave front with a distance to thedestination, multiplied by the heuristic value.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example embodiment of mapping information andnavigation nodes explored during the location reference path computationstep of the encoding process employed on a server (302), or a locationreference path reconstruction or decoding step on a user end mappingdevice (200), without a focusing factor (a heuristic value of zero); andFIG. 5 illustrates an example embodiment of mapping information andnavigation nodes explored during the location reference path computationstep of the encoding process on the server (302), or a locationreference path reconstruction or decoding step on an end user mappingdevice (200), upon receipt of a heuristic value of 1 (a theoreticalmaximum that guarantees an optimal path during the original pathcomputation). Comparing FIGS. 4 and 5, one can see how the search areadenoted by the number of node locations (round dots 406 and 408) getssmaller in FIG. 5. Routers typically choose admissible heuristic valuesbetween 0 and 1, with an appropriate effect on the search area.

In another embodiment, as the path distance between pairs routing pointsis known at the server 302, this information can be sent to a remotedevice (such as navigation device 200) to aid in decoding information ofor otherwise reconstructing a location from a location reference. Withtwo routing points that can serve as an ellipse's foci, and pathdistance indication, a resulting ellipse limits the area the computedpath, which can be used to regulate node filtering at the remote device,such as an end user mapping device 200, which may be a navigation devicefor example.

A path is computed on the server 302; wherein the encoding includes acomputed path distance indication for each pair of consecutive routingpoints (RPs), and that is sufficient to focus the path reconstructionsearch within reduced area. FIG. 5 shows an origin 402 and thedestination 404 of the path or path segment of the location reference tobe reconstructed, which are also the focuses of the ellipse as explainedregarding FIG. 9. The cost is the improved or even optimized for traveldistance.

When locations are initially encoded at the server 320, path searchalgorithms are utilized to determine where to insert routing pointswithin the location being encoded, such that wherein the shortest pathbetween two nodes deviates from the defined location, a routing point(s)is added between two existing nodes to ensure that the shortest path(s)between consecutive routing points cover the entire location. As pathdistances of a LR are known between routing points, this information orrelated information such as a percentage over this distance can be addedas a focusing factor(s) at the server 302 for the path(s) of thelocation reference, which focusing factor(s) can then be used to enhancethe location reference for transmission or broadcast to at least one andeven multiple remote devices, such as navigation or other end usermapping devices 200, other servers, etc. As such, enhanced locationreference(s) can be sent, enhanced by a computed focusing factor, toallow the remote device such as end user mapping device 200 to improvespeed in decoding the traffic information. To obtain benefit ofembodiments of the present application, focusing factors, such asdynamic computed focusing factors for example, should be added toinformation pertaining to each path of the location reference, tothereby enhance the location reference by the computed focusing factorfor subsequent transmission to the remote device(s).

Faster decoding facilitates more effective processing of LR at thedecoding devices, which would often time-out and drop LR messages in thepast. With faster decoding of enhanced location references, such astraffic information for example, there is a lesser chance for a droppedmessaged; and thus the device 200 can obtain a route which avoids thedetermined location reference, e.g. location of the traffic jam, roadclosure, etc. in an efficient manner. The remote device such as end usermapping device 200 can receive information which allows it toreconstruct the at least one path of the location reference bycalculating the path faster in an reduced area and then calculate aroute of travel which avoids the determined location of the at least onetraffic jam, road closure, etc.

Accordingly, as shown in various aspects of FIGS. 4 to 9, byadditionally encoding into the LR dynamic focusing factor(s), such asheuristic, path distance, or path extent deviation, at the server 302,for each corresponding shortest path of the location reference, areduced path search area at the remote device, such as navigation device200, can be used for fast and efficient reconstruction of the shortestpath(s) for the purpose of decoding the location reference.

Dynamic focusing factors at the server 302, used to limit path searchareas, regulate node filtering are shown in FIGS. 4 to 9. Thus, encodingof information at the server 302 can take place using a system-widestatic focusing factor while decoding at the remote device such asnavigation device 200, can utilize a dynamic focusing factor(s), derivedat server 302, that vary depending on specifics of the shortest path(s)of the location reference determined within the mapping information atthe server 302.

A decoding focusing factor in a form of distance indication computed atthe server 302, is based upon encoded information corresponding to thedetermined at least one path of the location reference. Such a focusingfactor can be reversely monotonic The closer is path distance to thestraight line segment connecting two routing points, the narrower theelliptical search area and the faster the search for path reconstructionas shown by element 412 of FIG. 9 for example, owing to the ellipse'sproperty of linear eccentricity.

Thus, by the server 302 making use of the known distance of a pathbetween origin and destination node 402 and 404 calculated duringencoding, the path search area becomes elliptical as shown in FIG. 9 forexample on the decoding side, with focuses on two routing points. Whenthe two distances are nearly equal, the reconstructed path follows astraight line between the two routing points. In at least one embodimentof the present application, the focusing factor may not be the pathdistance itself, but a relative measure of path distance vs. straightline distance between the foci, for example a percentage of pathdistance over the straight line.

The methods of the embodiments of the present application result insharply curtailing the exploration or search area, and thus the decodingcompute time, for the majority of paths on the remote device duringdecoding, when compared with traditional factors.

In at least one embodiment, the inventor has determined that manytraffic-related segments of locations between two routing points fallinto a range near a straight line. To keep the encoding size small,there could be a default dynamic decoding focusing factor in oneembodiment of the present application, determined from experimental datato be the most common dynamic focusing factor useful to reduce searcharea in reconstruction of many paths, for example. This is aimed atkeeping the size of encoded locations small, satisfying a criticalrequirement in location referencing. In at least one such exampleembodiment, an optional focusing factor parameter may be added toindicate a wider search area, necessary to reconstruct a path, asdetermined by one of the methods described above. This optionalparameter may be tailored to ensure a search area that is justsufficient to find a matching path, but different from one determined bythe default dynamic focusing factor. Thus, in one embodiment, a defaultdynamic focusing factor may be set, wherein the at least one locationreference is enhanced by an indication of a default dynamic focusingfactor to be used in path reconstruction. Conversely, in at least one anembodiment, at least one optional dynamic focusing factor pertaining toat least one path can be added to the LR before transmission, only uponthe at least one focusing factor being different from the defaultdynamic value.

In at least one embodiment, the focusing factor includes an indicationof maximum allowed path length, the two routing points and path lengthindication convey the area of an ellipse which contains all nodes andlinks that can be potentially useful for reconstructing the originalshortest path. When path search iterates propagating from a least costnode, any new node with its links that fall outside the elliptical areaare eliminated from consideration, by comparing the sum of an alreadycomputed cost to reach the node, and a straight line cost to reach thedestination, against the indicated maximum allowed path length. As withother focusing factor techniques, a default value can be selected toexpress the most common value of the facilitating focusing factor. Forinstance, a maximum path length of up to 10% over a straight linedistance can be chosen as a default parameter; then optionally a maximumallowed distance indication can be omitted from the locationfacilitation parameter for any encoded path that meets this criteria,and the method would by default limit the search area according to thedefault value. Thus, in at least one embodiment, a default focusingfactor may be set, wherein the at least one location reference isenhanced by at least one indication of a default focusing factor for atleast one path before transmission, and wherein the reconstructingincludes using the at least one location reference enhanced by thedefault focusing factor for at least one path. The default may not besent or may be encoded to reduce transmitted packet size.

Further, the received at least one location reference enhanced by atleast one focusing factor may include a path distance of the at leastone path of the at least one location reference, and the received pathdistance may then be used in regulating node filtering, inreconstruction of the at least one path of the location reference.

Thus, by any of the embodiments of the methods expressed above, in atleast one embodiment the computed at least one location referenceenhanced by at least one focusing factor can be received and is thenuseable at the remote device (such as an end user mapping device 200and/or navigation device) to reconstruct the at least one path of thelocation reference, wherein a travel route is determined at the deviceto avoid, to an extent possible consistent with routing criteria, thereconstructed at least one path of the at least one location reference.This at least one location reference for at least one embodiment may bethat of, for example, at least one traffic jam or the like.Alternatively new route calculations can occur at the server 302 and theremote device can receive a new travel route, which itself may bedetermined to avoid a location reference enhanced by at least onefocusing factor. In embodiments this new route may be deviated from anoriginal route to avoid, to an extent possible consistent with routingcriteria, the at least one path of the at least one location referenceenhanced by a focusing factor and representing, for example, at leastone traffic jam.

The methods of the embodiment expressed above may be implemented by asystem, including a server 302 for example, and/or on a remote device,such as a end user mapping device 200, another server, etc. Thus atleast one embodiment of the present application is directed to a systemcomprising a receiver 310 to at least one of obtain and receiveinformation regarding at least one location reference at a server 302for transmission to at least one remote device; a processor (304) todetermine at least one path of the at least one location referencecorresponding to at least a pair of points within mapping information atthe server (302) and to compute at least one focusing factor at theserver (302) based upon encoded information corresponding to thedetermined at least one path of the at least one location reference; anda transmitter (308) to transmit the at least one location referenceenhanced by the at least one focusing factor from the server (302) tothe at least one remote device. The at least one remote device may be anend user mapping device such as, for example, a navigation device (andthe navigation device may a portable navigation device, an in-vehiclenavigation device, etc.); and/or may be another server. Further, the atleast one remote device may include a plurality of remote devices,wherein the transmitter of the server 302 is further useable tobroadcast to the plurality of remote devices.

FIG. 10 is directed to an example embodiment of a method of the presentapplication performed at the remote device, such as a end user mappingdevice 200 or server for example. The method includes S 100 receivinginformation from a remote server (302), at a device (200), the receivedinformation including at least one location reference enhanced by atleast one focusing factor, computed at the remote server (302) basedupon encoded information corresponding to at least one path of the atleast one location reference; and S200 reconstructing the at least onepath of the at least one location reference at the device (200), basedupon the received at least one location reference enhanced by the atleast one focusing factor. Again, the device may be an end user mappingdevice such as, for example, a navigation, or it may be another server.Also, the device may be one of a plurality of remote devices, andwherein the received information includes information broadcast to theplurality of remote devices.

Accordingly, in at least one example embodiment, the remote device mayreceive the enhanced at least one location reference computed at theremote server 302 and may use it to reconstruct the at least onelocation reference in a manner similar to that previously describedabove and with regard to FIGS. 4 to 10 for example. In at least oneembodiment, the reconstructing may include using the receivedinformation in determining a search area in reconstruction of the atleast one path of the at least one location reference, using thereceived information in determining a reduced search area inreconstruction of the at least one path of the at least one locationreference; and/or using the received at least one location referenceenhanced by the at least one focusing factor in regulating nodefiltering in reconstruction of the at least one path of the at least onelocation reference.

Further, in at least one example embodiment, the at least one focusingfactor may include at least one heuristic value, computed as a functionof path node deviation, based upon the encoded information, wherein asthe path node deviation is relatively increased, the at least oneheuristic value is relatively decreased and as the path node deviationis relatively decreased, the at least one heuristic value is relativelyincreased. Further, the at least one focusing factor may be computedbased upon at least one pair of encoded points and a path distance overa distance between a pair of points corresponding to the at least onepath of the at least one location reference.

Further, in at least one example embodiment, the received informationmay include at least one pair of points and one of a distance and a pathdistance over a distance between the at least one pair of points and acombination thereof. Thus the distance, the path distance over adistance or any combination of these can be used as a focusing factor tofilter out nodes in the path reconstruction at the remote device.

Further, in at least one example embodiment, the computed at least onelocation reference enhanced by at least one focusing factor may be usedto reconstruct the at least one path of the location reference, whereina travel route is determined at the device to avoid, to an extentpossible consistent with routing criteria, the reconstructed at leastone path of the at least one location reference. Alternatively, a newtravel route may be received at the device, reflective of the receivedat least one computed at least one location reference enhanced by atleast one focusing factor, deviated from an original route to avoid, toan extent possible consistent with routing criteria, the at least onepath of the at least one location reference.

Further, in at least one example embodiment, the received at least onelocation reference enhanced by at least one focusing factor may includea path distance, and the received path distance may then be used todetermine path search area, used to determine path search area, andhence used in regulating node filtering in reconstruction of the atleast one path of the location reference. Also, in at least oneembodiment, a default dynamic focusing factor may be set and wherein theat least one location reference is enhanced by at least one indicationof a default focusing factor for at least one path before transmission,wherein the reconstructing includes using the at least one locationreference enhanced by the default dynamic focusing factor for at leastone path. Further, the default may not be sent or may be encoded toreduce transmission packet size.

The methods of the embodiment expressed above may be implemented by adevice, including but not limited to an end user mapping device 200 suchas a navigation device for example, another server, etc. Thus at leastone embodiment of the present application is directed to a deviceincluding a receiver (250, 322) to receive information from a remotelylocated server (302), the information including at least one locationreference enhanced by at least one focusing factor computed at theserver (302) based upon encoded information corresponding to at leastone path of the at least one location reference; and a processor (210)to reconstruct the at least one path of the at least one locationreference at the device (200), based upon the computed at least onelocation reference enhanced by at least one focusing factor. The deviceis an end user mapping device (200), and the end user mapping device(200) may be a navigation device. The navigation device may a portablenavigation device, an in-vehicle navigation device, etc.

In at least one embodiment, the spatial content information (e.g. mapdata) includes traffic related information, such as that of a trafficjam, road closure, etc. The method of at least one embodiment mayinclude establishing a connection with the server, the information beingreceived from the server upon establishing a connection. The connectionmay be a wireless connection, for example between the server 302 and aremote device such as navigation device 200.

In at least one embodiment, routing information such as that of a detourfor example, around the determined location reference, may also beconveyed and transmitted to the remote device(s), wherein the at leastone remote device may compute a travel route, derived at least in part,by taking into account the transmitted enhanced location reference, forexample transmitted in packets to the remote devices, such as navigationor other end user mapping devices 200, other servers, etc. Receivedinformation may be stored a memory (230).

In at least one other embodiment, the receiver (250, 322) may beconfigured to receive a new travel route, deviated from an originalroute to avoid, to an extent possible consistent with routing criteria,the at least one path of the at least one location reference.

In the text above, location references are mentioned throughoutembodiments of the present application. Uses, throughout any of theabove expressed embodiments of the present application, for theselocation references can include, but are not limited to,

-   -   traffic usage: traffic jams, detours, etc.—servers transmitting        to end user devices or other servers, clients (remote devices)        reporting traffic, etc.;

safety applications—clients (remote devices) reporting an accidentlocation;

reporting of processed or raw probe data by mobile devices (remotedevices);

tourist routes;

friend finder applications, sharing location information;

fleet operators sending route descriptions to the fleet vehicles;

incremental updates of map data;

sharing of auxiliary data pertaining to linear locations;

etc.

Device application software access and manipulate the derived digitalmap application database in response to user inputs. The software'soutput to the user can be in a list, text, graphical display such as amap or video, audio such as speech, or other type of output. Many GIS,Internet and Navigation applications can use embodiments of the presentinvention discussed above. These applications include geocodingapplications (text/list based), routing/directions applications(graphical/list/speech based) and graphical-based display applications.The applications can include navigation, Internet-based and GeographicalInformation Systems (GIS) among others. The application can be a mappingprogram, a navigation program or some other type of program. Asdiscussed above, map application consumers have been provided with avariety of devices and systems to enable them to locate desired places.These devices and systems are in the form of in-vehicle navigationsystems which enable a driver to navigate over streets and roads and toenter desired places, hand-held devices such as personal digitalassistants (“PDAs”) and cell phones that can do the same, and Internetapplications in which users can access maps using or depicting thedesired results. For purposes of this disclosure all such results aresimply defined as “places.”

FIG. 11 illustrates an example embodiment as used on a portablehand-held device, such as personal digital assistant (PDA). The devicecould also be a cell phone, for example. On PDA map software, an examplesearch may be performed by a user who wants driving directions to 150Central Park West. The PDA map software utilizes embodiments of thepresent invention to accurately display the location of 150 Central ParkWest using the PDA map software.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example embodiment of the method, database,memory, etc. as used on an in-vehicle navigation system, such as aglobal positioning system (GPS). On GPS map software, an example searchmay be performed by a driver who wants driving directions to 35 WestHill Road, as shown at the bottom of the GPS map software. The GPS mapsoftware utilizes embodiments of the present invention to accuratelydisplay the location of 35 West Hill Road, once the driver reaches hisor her destination using the GPS software.

The methods of the embodiment expressed above may be implemented by asystem, including a server 302 for example, and/or on a device, such asan end user mapping device 200 for example. At least one embodiment ofthe present application is directed to a device comprising a receiver322/250 to receive information from a remotely located server 302, theinformation including a location reference within map data and afocusing factor, computed at the server 302 based upon encodedinformation corresponding to the location; and a processor 210 todetermine a route of travel based upon the received location referencewithin the spatial content information (e.g. map data) and the receivedfocusing factor.

Even further, any of the aforementioned methods may be embodied in theform of a program. The program may be stored on a computer readablemedia and is adapted to perform any one of the aforementioned methodswhen run on a computer device (a device including a processor). Thus,the storage medium or computer readable medium, is adapted to storeinformation and is adapted to interact with a data processing facilityor computer device to perform the method of any of the above mentionedembodiments.

Appropriate software coding can readily be prepared by skilledprogrammers based on the teachings of the present disclosure, as will beapparent to those skilled in the software art. Embodiments of theinvention may also be implemented by the preparation of applicationspecific integrated circuits or by interconnecting an appropriatenetwork of conventional component circuits, as will be readily apparentto those skilled in the art.

Embodiments of the present invention include a computer program productwhich is a storage medium (computer readable medium) having instructionsstored thereon/in which can be used to program a computer to perform anyof the methods described above of embodiments of the present invention.The storage medium can include, but is not limited to, any type of diskincluding floppy disks, optical discs, DVD, CD-ROMs, microdrive, andmagneto-optical disks, ROMs, RAMs, EPROMs, EEPROMs, DRAMs, VRAMs, flashmemory devices, magnetic or optical cards, nanosystems, includingmolecular memory ICs, or any type of system or device suitable forstoring instructions and/or data.

Embodiments of the present invention include a computer readable medium,including program segments for, when executed on a processor of theserver 302 and/or of the navigation device 210, causing the server 302or end user mapping device 200 to implement the methods of embodimentsof the present application described above. Again, as would beunderstood by one of ordinary skill in the art, any of the techniques ofembodiments of the methods of the present application described above,are equally applicable to the program segments of computer readablemedium discussed herein.

Stored on any one of the computer readable medium (media), embodimentsof the present invention include software (including, for example,program segments) for controlling both the hardware of the generalpurpose/specialized computer or microprocessor, and for enabling thecomputer or microprocessor to interact with a human user or othermechanism utilizing the results of embodiments of the present invention.Such software may include, but is not limited to, device drivers,operating systems, program segments and user applications. Ultimately,such computer readable media further includes software for performingembodiments of the present invention, as described above.

Included in the programming or software of the general/specializedcomputer or microprocessor are software modules for implementing theteachings of the embodiments of present invention. Embodiments of thepresent invention may be conveniently implemented using a conventionalgeneral purpose or a specialized digital computer or microprocessorprogrammed according to the teachings of the present disclosure, as willbe apparent to those skilled in the computer art.

The foregoing description of the embodiments of the present inventionhas been provided for the purposes of illustration and description. Itis not intended to be exhaustive or to limit embodiments of theinvention to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications andvariations will be apparent to a practitioner skilled in the art. Theembodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the invention and its practical application, therebyenabling others skilled in the art to understand the invention forvarious embodiments and with various modifications that are suited tothe particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of theinvention be defined by the following claims and their equivalents.

It will also be appreciated that whilst various aspects and embodimentsof the present invention have heretofore been described, the scope ofthe present invention is not limited to the particular arrangements setout herein and instead extends to encompass all arrangements, andmodifications and alterations thereto, which fall within the scope ofthe appended claims.

For example, whilst the above-described destination view includes imagesrepresentative of buildings surrounding the destination address, it willbe appreciated a destination view that included a rendered image of onlythe destination address would still help the user to identify andnavigate to that address. Accordingly, whilst it is preferred togenerate rendered images of the destination address and neighboringbuildings, this is not an essential feature of the invention.

For example, whilst embodiments described in the foregoing detaileddescription refer to GPS, it should be noted that the navigation devicemay utilize any kind of position sensing technology as an alternative to(or indeed in addition to) GPS. For example the navigation device mayutilize using other global navigation satellite systems such as theEuropean Galileo system. Equally, it is not limited to satellite basedbut could readily function using ground based beacons or any other kindof system that enables the device to determine its geographic location.

It will also be well understood by persons of ordinary skill in the artthat whilst the preferred embodiment implements certain functionality bymeans of software, that functionality could equally be implementedsolely in hardware (for example by means of one or more ASICs(application specific integrated circuit)) or indeed by a mix ofhardware and software. As such, the scope of the present inventionshould not be interpreted as being limited only to being implemented insoftware.

Lastly, it should also be noted that whilst the accompanying claims setout particular combinations of features described herein, the scope ofthe present invention is not limited to the particular combinationshereafter claimed, but instead extends to encompass any combination offeatures or embodiments herein disclosed irrespective of whether or notthat particular combination has been specifically enumerated in theaccompanying claims at this time.

1. A method, comprising: at least one of obtaining and receivinginformation regarding at least one location reference at a server (302)for transmission to at least one remote device; determining at least onepath of the at least one location reference corresponding to at leastone pair of points within mapping information at the server (302);computing at least one focusing factor at the server (302) based uponencoded information corresponding to the determined at least one path ofthe at least one location reference, and enhancing the at least onelocation reference by the computed at least one focusing factor; andtransmitting the at least one location reference enhanced by thecomputed at least one focusing factor from the server (302) to the atleast one remote device.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at leastone location reference enhanced by the at least one focusing factor isusable by the at least one remote device in reconstructing the at leastone path of the at least one location reference.
 3. The method of claim1, wherein the at least one location reference enhanced by the at leastone focusing factor is useable by the at least one remote device indetermining a search area in reconstruction of the at least one path ofat least one the location reference.
 4. The method of claim 1, whereinthe at least one location reference enhanced by the at least onefocusing factor is useable by the at least one remote device indetermining a reduced search area in reconstruction of the at least onepath of the at least one location reference.
 5. The method of claim 1,wherein the at least one location reference enhanced by the at least onefocusing factor is useable by the at least one remote device inregulating node filtering in reconstruction of the at least one path ofthe at least one location reference.
 6. The method of claim 1, whereinthe at least one focusing factor includes at least one heuristic value,computed as a function of path node deviation, based upon the encodedinformation.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein as the path nodedeviation is relatively increased, the at least one heuristic value isrelatively decreased and as the path node deviation is relativelydecreased, the at least one heuristic value is relatively increased. 8.The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one focusing factor iscomputed based upon at least one pair of encoded points and a pathdistance.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmitted at least onelocation reference enhanced by the at least one focusing factor includesat least one pair of points and a path distance.
 10. (canceled) 11.(canceled)
 12. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one remotedevice is another server.
 13. (canceled)
 14. The method according toclaim 1, wherein the computed at least one location reference enhancedby at least one focusing factor is useable at the at least one remotedevice to compute a travel route, derived at least in part by takinginto account the at least one path of the at least one locationreference.
 15. The method according to claim 1, wherein the at least onelocation reference enhanced by at least one focusing factor is usable bythe at least one remote device in reconstructing the at least one pathof the at least one location reference, and wherein a travel route isdeterminable at the at least one remote device to avoid, to an extentpossible consistent with routing criteria, the reconstructed at leastone path of the at least one location reference.
 16. The method of claim1, wherein the at least one location reference enhanced by at least onefocusing factor includes a path distance, the path distance beinguseable, at the at least one remote device, in regulating node filteringin location reconstruction of the at least one path of the locationreference.
 17. The method according to claim 1, wherein a defaultfocusing factor is set and wherein the at least one location referenceis enhanced by at least one focusing factor before transmission, onlyupon the at least one focusing factor being different from the defaultfocusing factor.
 18. A computer readable medium including programsegments for, when executed on a processor of the server (302), causingthe server (302) to implement the method of claim
 1. 19. A system,comprising: a receiver (310) to at least one of obtain and receiveinformation regarding at least one location reference at a server (302)for transmission to at least one remote device; a processor (304) todetermine at least one path of the at least one location referencecorresponding to at least one pair of points within mapping informationat the server (302) and to compute at least one focusing factor at theserver (302) based upon encoded information corresponding to thedetermined at least one path of the at least one location reference; anda transmitter (308) to transmit the at least one location referenceenhanced by the at least one computed focusing factor from the server(302) to the at least one remote device.
 20. The system of claim 19,wherein the at least one location reference enhanced by the at least onefocusing factor is usable by the at least one remote device inreconstructing the at least one path of the at least one locationreference.
 21. The system of claim 19, wherein the at least one locationreference enhanced by the at least one focusing factor is useable by theat least one remote device in determining a search area inreconstruction of the at least one path of the at least one locationreference.
 22. The system of claim 19, wherein the at least one locationreference enhanced by the at least one focusing factor is useable by theat least one remote device in determining a reduced search area inreconstruction of the at least one path of the at least one locationreference.
 23. The system of claim 19, wherein the at least one locationreference enhanced by the at least one focusing factor is useable by theat least one remote device in regulating node filtering inreconstruction of the at least one path of the at least one locationreference.
 24. The system of claim 19, wherein the at least one focusingfactor includes at least one heuristic value, computed as a function ofpath node deviation, based upon the encoded information.
 25. The systemof claim 24, wherein as the path node deviation is relatively increased,the at least one heuristic value is relatively decreased and as the pathnode deviation is relatively decreased, the at least one heuristic valueis relatively increased.
 26. The system of claim 19, wherein the atleast one focusing factor is computed based upon at least one pair ofencoded points and a path distance.
 27. The system of claim 19, whereinthe transmitted at least one location reference enhanced by the at leastone focusing factor includes at least one pair of points and a pathdistance.
 28. (canceled)
 29. (canceled)
 30. The system of claim 19,wherein the at least one remote device is another server.
 31. (canceled)32. The system of claim 19, wherein the computed at least one locationreference enhanced by at least one focusing factor is useable at the atleast one remote device to compute a travel route, derived at least inpart by taking into account the at least one path of the at least onelocation reference.
 33. The system of claim 19, wherein the at least onelocation reference enhanced by at least one focusing factor is usable bythe at least one remote device in reconstructing the at least one pathof the at least one location reference, and wherein a travel route isdeterminable at the at least one remote device to avoid, to an extentpossible consistent with routing criteria, the reconstructed at leastone path of the at least one location reference.
 34. The system of claim19, wherein the at least one location reference enhanced by at least onefocusing factor includes a path distance, the path distance beinguseable, at the at least one remote device, in regulating node filteringin location reconstruction of the at least one path of the locationreference.
 35. The system of claim 19, wherein a default focusing factoris set and wherein the at least one location reference is enhanced by atleast one focusing factor before transmission, only upon the at leastone focusing factor being different from the default focusing factor.